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THE SEVEN “Cs” OF SCIENCE WRITING: AN ACT-SO WORKSHOP
MARCH 6, 2021
CHERYL DRUGANKEVIN A. BROWNJARED SAGOFFArgonne National Laboratory
WELCOME!
§ Plan your report.
§ Meet report requirements.
§ Learn tips to improve your writing.
§ Locate resources for additional help.
§ Prepare you to work with our team on your draft report.
During today’s workshop, our goal is to help you:
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SETTING THE STAGE
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BEFORE YOU START WRITING:ASK THE BIG QUESTIONS!
What do I want the reader to
learn?
What are the main points I
need to communicate?
What’s the connection between points?
Why is this important?
“SAILING THE SEVEN Cs”
1. Concrete
2. Clear
3. Concise
4. Compelling
5. Context
6. Correct
7. Consistent
of Quality Writing
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CONCRETE, CLEAR, CONCISE
§ Concrete: Write with precision (heat to 350°F vs. heat as long as needed).
§ Clear: Present information so all readers can understand.
§ Concise: Focus on “word economy” – find simpler ways to write what you need to say (“Because” is better than “Due to the fact that…”).
Pop Quiz: Is the quoted text – which is REAL – concrete, clear, and concise?
Help your readers understand by making your writing:
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“This is explained by the fact that the heat exchanges convectifsinternal in the Sensor between air and the cells improved, when the
distance between absorber and insulating plate, decreases.”
COMPELLING
§ Compelling: Make your writing interesting – understand what your readers need to know and write to them.
§ Readers want to find information QUICKLY, and so if you make it easy for them, they will be more compelled to read your report or paper.
§ Active vs. Passive Voice: Use active voice wherever possible.There is no universal rule; follow guidelines set by the publisher or your school/organization.
– Active: Direct accountability and is natural, vigorous, emphatic; sometimes viewed as breaking with scientific tradition (”We prepared samples by…”).
– Passive: Indirect accountability; sometimes viewed as less credible (“Samples were prepared by…”).
Engage your readers by making your writing:
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CONTEXT
§ In the abstract, summary, and introduction, state the impact of the research on your research field, the scientific community, and society.
§ Answer the questions: Why did I do the research? Why is it relevant to my readers?
Pop Quiz: Does the quoted text provide context?
Help your readers appreciate the value of your research by providing context.
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“The objectives were to determine the extent to which changes in fuel composition affect emissions.”
CORRECT AND CONSISTENT
§ Correct: Check spelling, grammar, punctuation – ask others to read your paper.
§ Consistent: Focus on format, font, tables and figure style, reference callouts and lists, abbreviation/acronym use, spelling, capitalization, hyphenation, units, messaging.
Focus on quality by ensuring your writing is:
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Key Takeaway: Your report represents you and your organization, so it pays to invest in preparing a quality document.
READY TO WRITE
STRUCTURE OF A SCIENTIFIC PAPERRelates your experiments to something that others can understand, repeat, and expand on with future work.
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http://abacus.bates.edu/~ganderso/biology/resources/writing/HTWsections.html
References, Bibliography
Procedure
Purpose
Data, Analysis
Conclusions
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ABSTRACT (SHOULDN’T BE “ABSTRACT”)An abstract is a one-paragraph summary of an entire report or paper that provides a quick look at your research. An abstract typically includes:
§ Introduction – objective(s)/goal(s); context/background§ Methods§ Results§ Key conclusions/recommendations§ Exemplifies the 7 “Cs”
Note: Although found in all major research papers/journals, an abstract is not required for ACT-SO papers, but it should be included in your scientific poster.
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ABSTRACTS ARE ALL ABOUT…§ Concisely introducing your research.
§ Helping readers understand your research and what they can expect to find in the full document.
§ Engaging readers so they will wantto learn more.
§ Setting the stage for the main document.
Why?
Who Cares?
What am I doing?
What did I find?
What’s Next?
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PURPOSE OR INTRODUCTION§ Provides the background and CONTEXT needed for your reader to
understand your paper.
§ Explains why this topic is important and interesting to study, i.e., is COMPELLING.
§ Helps the reader understand the connection between your particular research question and a larger issue facing science or society.
§ Uses references to cite information.
Tip: Cite books and journal articles more often than websites or personal communications.
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ACT-SO SCIENCE GUIDELINES: HYPOTHESIS§ A hypothesis MUST be included in your research report and on your science
project presentation board. A hypothesis is a term that means making a prediction. It’s an educated guess about the outcome of your experiment.
§ You must state your hypothesis in a way that you can readily measure:
– State why you think your hypothesis is correct.
• Use the “if, then” format.• Say why you believe your prediction will be correct.
§ Include the hypothesis in the main text of your purpose section, or put it under its own heading.
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MATERIALS AND METHODS/PROCEDURE§ Materials:
– Include all the supplies used in your experiment.
– Can be a list or table format.
– Use metric system.
§ Methods/Procedure:
– What did you do in your experiment?
– Should be written in sentences.
– Should be clearly written and provide sufficient detail so that others can reproduce your work.
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DATA OR RESULTS
§ Include your most important results in a summary format.
– More detailed results can be included in Supporting Documents.
§ Can include tables, graphs, charts – give them titles, figure legends, etc.
– Always, always, always specify your units on any chart, table, or graph you present.
§ Should also include statistical analyses, calculations, or other direct analysis of data.
DATA TIPS§ DO label graphs appropriately.
– Title– Axes
– Units§ DO use error bars.
§ DO provide a descriptive figure caption.
§ DO refer to figures within the body of your paper.
§ DON’T forget to label axes or provide a title and figure caption.
§ DON’T use trend lines that don’t make sense.
§ DON’T leave in the default data labels from your graphing program.
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RESULTS AND ANALYSIS OR DISCUSSION
§ Written section to elaborate on interesting findings from your data:
– Use statistical analysis to guide discussion when possible
– Consult your mentor to discuss results
§ Discuss the general trends, exceptions, and reason for exceptions in your data.
§ Explain why you think these exceptions may have happened.
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CONCLUSION
§ Summary of results:
– Not meant to repeat your discussion section.
– Tells why results are significant – again provides COMPELLING CONTEXT.
§ Hypothesis check – allows you to evaluate whether you proved or disproved your hypothesis.
– Very important in ACT-SO papers.
§ Ideas for future experiments, improved project design, etc.
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SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS
§ Maintain same standards as you used in the main paper.
§ Put all the extra data that you have collected and elaborate on procedures and experimental details in this section.
§ Use tables, figures, graphs, etc.
§ Give everything an organized flow with labels, figure legends, and titles.
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SUMMARY: PAPER WRITING DO’s AND DON’Ts§ DO
– Find the larger context for your research question.– Develop a strong hypothesis.
– Write CLEARLY – short declarative sentences are typically better.– Avoid overly technical words if possible (jargon).– Stay focused on your particular research question – be CONCRETE.– Keep the length of the main paper to 5 pages.
§ DON’T– Go into detail about materials and methods in abstract or introduction.– Assume your readers know if your hypothesis is validated.– Lose sight of the ultimate impact of your experiment, even if it seems
insignificant at this point.
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PAPER WRITING REFERENCES
§ http://abacus.bates.edu/~ganderso/biology/resources/writing/HTWsections.html
§ https://www.elsevier.com/connect/infographic-tips-to-writing-better-science-papers
§ http://www.columbia.edu/cu/biology/ug/research/paper.html
§ http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_final_report.shtml
§ http://dupageact-so.org/olympics/Guidelines/Science.pdf
Always proofread your paper—and each other’s papers!
FINAL THOUGHTS
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Q&A/DISCUSSION
§ Any questions?
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AN INVITATION
Need Help?
For further guidance and review of your report, send us your draft by March 19th.
§ Cheryl Drugan ([email protected])
§ Jared Sagoff ([email protected])
§ Kevin A. Brown ([email protected])
Writing Center of Excellence Communications and Public Affairs
